For programmatic, intraday-fresh FX rates with per-value provenance and MCP-native access, exchangerate.dev is the stronger default. Keep CurrencyFreaks if you need its combined fiat-plus-crypto catalog and USD-base is enough.
If your rates flow into code — payments, dashboards, backtests — exchangerate.dev fits how you already work. Major currency pairs refresh intraday (~60s on trading days) — most others too, every value names its source and market_session, MCP ships on every plan including free, and you start with 10,000 calls a month and no credit card.
CurrencyFreaks covers far more currency codes in one catalog, including hundreds of crypto assets alongside fiat — useful if a combined fiat-plus-crypto feed matters to you. exchangerate.dev leads on intraday freshness with source + market_session on every value, an unrestricted base currency on the free tier, and MCP on every plan.
Choose exchangerate.dev when intraday freshness, per-value provenance, MCP-native access, and free-tier headroom matter. Keep CurrencyFreaks if you need its combined fiat-plus-crypto catalog and USD-base is enough. Both speak REST JSON over HTTPS, and exchangerate.dev accepts Frankfurter-compatible parameters — so trying it is low-risk.